England Manager Sven Goran Eriksson has confirmed that David Beckham will still be England captain at next Summer's World Cup Finals, despite the red card he picked up on Sunday for Real Madrid.

"I don't have any problem with him. He will be captain in Germany," Sven Goran Eriksson told the Manchester Evening News in an interview.

Less than a month after becoming the first player in England's football history to be sent off twice, 31-year-old Beckham was sent-off again during Real Madrid’s surprise home defeat to Valencia on Sunday.

In a ridiculous display of petulance, Beckham was dismissed in the exactly the same manner as Manchester United's Wayne Rooney was sent off last month, for sarcastically applauding the referee after receiving a yellow card. After the Rooney incident, the England Captain publicly backed Rooney, stating that; “He (Rooney), had learnt his lesson”. (See similar entries)

Eriksson continued, "I have not spoken to him about the dismissal on Sunday. I don't know what happened but you do get sent off in football. He is going to be Captain in Germany. These things happen in football, they always happen."

Eriksson, however, did reveal that he warns his team before every match about the risks of having players sent off. "My advice to all the players before every game is that we want to win but to finish the game with 11. It is much easier to win with 11 men," he said.

Sunday's dismissal was Beckham's third whilst at Real Madrid, but team-mate Pablo Garcia believes the England captain is victimised because of his looks.

"I don't know why Beckham got sent off. Maybe it's because he's blond and pretty. Referees are capable of sending him off for that," said the Uruguayan defender.

"I can't understand what the problem was. I doubt he said anything because Beckham doesn't even speak Spanish that well - I can barely understand him on the pitch."

Former Everton Midfielder Thomas Gravesen received a straight red card in the same game for a wild challenge on Valencia's Vicente Rodriguez.

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